Labor 'breaks rail promise' before poll

By Jim O'RourkeMarch 2 2003
The Sun-Herald

The State Government was conning the people of NSW by failing to meet a promise to release an interim report into the cause of the Waterfall rail disaster before the March 22 election, the Opposition said yesterday.

Opposition Leader John Brogden attacked Premier Bob Carr and his Transport Minister, Carl Scully, for raising expectations that at least a partial explanation for the crash, in which seven people died, would be completed before the election.

Speaking while campaigning at Five Dock, Mr Brogden said he was disappointed that the inquiry into the accident would not start until after the state poll.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union said yesterday it would be angry if any information flowing from the inquiry was being held back from the public for political reasons.

On Friday, former Supreme Court judge Peter McInerney, who is heading the independent inquiry, nominated April 1 as the starting date for a public hearing. He said the complex nature of the investigation was the main factor in determining a date.

Mr Brogden noted the Government had said immediately after the Waterfall railway disaster on January 31 that there would be an interim report into the accident.

"The people of NSW have an expectation that there will be an interim report before the election," he said.

"The Government has conned us here. I'm disappointed and I think that the people of NSW will be disappointed.

"They wrote the terms of reference, they provide the funds for the inquiry and I think it's appropriate that there be an interim report."

Mr Scully said the release of an interim report was a matter for Mr McInerney.

He said that he and the Premier would welcome an interim report, but the Government would not interfere in the independent judicial process. "The commission should be allowed to undertake this examination without Opposition interference."

There has been speculation that excessive speed or an engine fault may have contributed to the crash.

In other election news, the Opposition accused the Government of upgrading police stations in marginal electorates in the weeks leading up to the election to help attract more votes.

Mr Brogden cited the Five Dock police station, which he said was turned into a small shopfront under Labor but was now being opened up for 24-hour operation.

"I want to remind you that just a few weeks before the last election in 1999 they reopened the Enfield police station, filled it full of police, and closed the station months after the election.

"The people of Five Dock, along with the people of NSW, should not fall for the con of the Labor Party when it comes to police staffing."

Opposition police spokesman Andrew Tink said closing Enfield meant Strathfield Council had to pay $50,000 for two officers from the Flemington Local Area Command to walk the beat around local shopping centres for 16 hours a week.